Corbin Cabinet Lock won't turn. Any ideas?

Pete

I have 2 idenital CCLs stamped #1 and #4. The key is stuck in lock #4 and I can’t turn the key to get the lock out. It is unlocked, but I can’t turn the key enough to get it out. The problem might be that I have 2 #4 keys and 1 #1 key, so I think someone may have forced the #1 key in the #4 lock. If I unscrew the 3 screws and take the lock off the wood, can I open the lock and get the key out? The key won’t fit thru the hole in the wood.

But what is more strange, I can’t get the #1 lock to lock. When I turn the key, the bar moves sightly, but doesn’t come up. The keys are so thin, I am afraid if I try to turn it any more the key will bend. Could be someone did the same thing and broke the mechanism but got the key out. The keys are marked, but the outside of the lock is not. I could easily see that happening.

Do these locks have problems, or should I try turning harder?

Dean Nickel

Pictures? While I know a good deal of CCL I need to know what lock you are dealing with. First blush I would say you have a lock with bent wafers in the lock with the stuck key. If that is the case then a new lock will be in order. You can get almost all CCL locks still. All locks have problems at some point, but CCL is just a cast lock and will fail with allot of use. You can order them keyed alike so you need the same key to open either lock.

Pete

I’ll go take some pics. What were they thinking having two identical locks with diferent keys and no way to tell them apart except from the inside? Especially with such a fragile lock.

Pete

Halflock, it looks like a model C? This is lock #1.

Dean Nickel

Ok. That is one they don’t make anymore I am sad to say. I have only seen one of those once before. That lock to be repaired will need to be taken apart by someone that can do the work. Unless I miss my guess if we were to look at the back of the lock the lock would be swagged together or a form of assembly that isn’t easy to work with and get it back together again. If there are screws then that will make is MUCH easier. In any case you should have those looked at by a locksmith that works on older locks and this isn’t an easy thing to find. I know I could and I am sure that there is another locksmith Doug or another two on this site that could do the work. Whatever you do DON"T force the key back. Those are a lever lock.

Can you show the back side?

Pschiffe

Although very common years ago, there are almost no lever tumbler cabinet locks extant. CCL Security Products (formerly Corbin Cabinet Lock Co.) discontinued them long ago. CompX National still offers a couple and Lock Corp. of America now makes lever tumbler locker locks. I suspect the high cost of manufacture was a major consideration in their demise. We usually replace them with a wafer tumbler cam lock by enlarging the existing hole to ¾″ using the Major Mfg. Co. HIT-25 cabinet lock guide and a brad point bit.

Pete Schifferli
Tonawanda, NY

Pete

Halflock with all the help you have been, can I show you another photo? Aspolutely! It has the two rectangular areas where it looks like the two halves were fit together, but no screws on either side. The only screws visible were the 3 holding the lock to the wood drawer.

Pete

Thanks for the info Pschiffe. I don’t have a need to get the lock working in any hurry, so if I can’t get it fixed, may just leave it broken. I might pay someone to work on it, but if I can pop it open myself and bend some metal to get it working, I might try that.

Pschiffe

You lock is “swaged” together and it is possible to disassemble by prying the pieces gently apart. I would not recommend this be attempted by anyone other than a locksmith who is thoroughly familiar with such devices. BTW, I have a reproduction of the 1928 Corbin Cabinet Lock catalog and yours is not shown, thus I suspect it may be nearly 100 years old!

Pete Schifferli
Tonawanda, NY

Pete

Thanks for the info Pschiffe! The safe has a patent date of 1922, and I also read that the stamped hinge finials were used until 1935. But if the lock is not inn the 1928 catalog, that makes the safe between 1922 and 1928. It might be that they neversold the locks thru their catalog, but made them for other companies. Did CCL do this? I am sure they had some arangement with Herring Hall Marvin to use their product.

Well it’s nice to know it can be fixed if I choose to take it to a locksmith. I wouldn’t try fixing it myself. I am great at taking things apart, but putting things back together is another story.

Pschiffe

Pete wrote
It might be that they neversold the locks thru their catalog, but made them for other companies. Did CCL do this? I am sure they had some arangement with Herring Hall Marvin to use their product.

I have little knowledge of safes but it is entirely likely that Corbin Cabinet Lock did OEM work for other manufacturers as they do to this day.

Pete Schifferli
Tonawanda, NY

[unknown]

Brian Denyer

Wow, those old economy made locks.
If it is taken apart trying to press fit it afterwards seldom works
due to the deformed metal.
Forcing the kay back will damge the tiny levers even more.
Right now we can’t tell if the levers have been moved past their
threshold of deformity?
Some times I am able to buy several locks like this and take one apart
to look for drill sites to solve problem like this.
Its unknown if this model you show is caste brass or a pot metal mix
with brass plating ?
There is usualy a bit of tolerance built into locks and keys.
If so a little wiggling similar to Impressioning may work?
Maybe some oil and candle heat may loosen up the mechanism?

Brian ………………………………………….

Pete

Brian. I think the brass part is solid brass and not plated. The other half is steel and is slightly rusting in spots. I could try oiling it, but with the key situation it looks like someone forced the wrong key.

Brian Denyer

Hi Pete:

Perhaps one option is to use a pair of pliers and slowly turn the key to the upright position?
If the person just twisted the stuck key by hand pressure then the damage may be slight. Although there could be a small bitof shaving of the levers? It is up to you if you want to try. If the pliers make the key too ahrd to turn back then just leave it. Some of the frozen lever locks I workedon in the past had small deformities that could be hammered flat
afterwards, but in your case it may not be possible.

Doug MacQueen

If I was hired to fix your lock problem, the method I would probably use if the key was stuck, would be to break the head of the key so the lock could be removed. Odds are the stuck key isn’t the right one anyway. And making a copy from the broken one is no big deal if it is. The locks can easily be opened by using a rectangular shaped punch that fits within the two spots on the back. And easily reassembled with just a little staking. But this is a job for a locksmith that has the both the keyblanks and the capability to fit a flat steel lever key. There are many old time skilled locksmiths out there and they could probably use the work. Doug

Pete

Thanks Doug and Brian for the info. Both locks are open and the one just has the key stuck in it, so both drawers open. I don’t know if I want to try forcing the key and break it more. I am in no rush, so maybe I will wait and take it to a locksmith. There is one close to me who aparently has a good reputation. I don’t know what it will cost, but I don’t have a use for it now, and I can find other things to spend money on. I’m just slowly tinkering with the safe and would like to get the locks working…..eventually.

Brian Denyer

You are welcome Pete.
Solutions to fixing and repairing antique locks/keys are
always fascinating.

Brian ……………………………..

Pete

Brian what is more fascinating is your knowledge on these things! There are so many mechanisms and brands. Its fun to see the fake lock and key forum and see how people explain the reasons why they are not real. And to have people tell me how to fix my old safe that is 100 years old without looking at the safe is neat. I made four posts here on completely different locks and got great answers on all of them.

Brian Denyer

[INDENT]Hi Pete:

Brian what is more fascinating is your knowledge on these things! There are so many mechanisms and brands.
*****Thanks Pete, I think that there may be a few basic discoveries and over time it is a continuous re-discovery/re-cycling of the basics with slight variations.
There is a Bolt or a latch that can only be moved with some type of key which is either solid or psychological as with a Safe Dial.
The bolt/latch may be a Partial Turn type, or else one or more turns of the key.
One padlock stamped with a date from the 14th century has 4 rotating
Moons. When alligned it allows for another part to be slid and opens the
keyhole. But the key doesn’t look like it belongs to the lock. Then after opening a hidden back plate can be opened by pushing the key further
into the keyhole past the locking bolt. The hidden compartment had a
samll piece of paper with a visual solution to a puzzle. Being iron based the ink was a reddish color on the handmade paper. So the communication was written in the universal language of graphics LOL

Its fun to see the fake lock and key forum and see how people explain the reasons why they are not real.
*****Yes it is a lively debate. But some security deterrence relies on
cover & deception to conceal the keyway or key. A friend went to Egypt
and bought a antique Egyptian wooden lock which contained an extra concealed pin in the wooden key to prevent others from picking the pegs.

And to have people tell me how to fix my old safe that is 100 years old without looking at the safe is neat. I made four posts here on completely different locks and got great answers on all of them.
******After repairing some types of locking mechanisms it seems that
certain acquired wear flaws turn up time after time. Flaws may be found in
the basic design; from wear and tear; clent abuse; environmetal decay and probably others not listed.

All-in-all it is a most fascinating pursuit filled with pleasure and learning opportunities. When I stop learning then I know something is wrong.
That point hasn’t come yet and I doubt that it ever will.

Brian …………………………………..

[/INDENT]

Pete

I got both of the CCLs working!

If you guys would have just told me the key is not supposed to be removed when it is in the unlocked position! It was a matter of just using the access hole to put the locks in the locked position and putting the correct key in.

I pried the lock apart myself (against everyone’s recomendations) and discovered how it worked and saw if I had only locked the lock using the small access hole and inserted the key it would have fixed it. But while it was apart I inspected and polished the internals. Nothing was bent! So I ground the metal tab square, put the two halves back together, and used a center punch on the tab to get the two to fit together. Since I then knew how the mechanism worked, I was able to unscrew the lock with the stuck key (wrong key) from the drawer and use an ice pick in the access hole to lock the lock and spin the key at the same time. So I didn’t even need to take the second lock apart. And the correct key works perfect. It is amazing how simple those locks are also.

———- Post added at 04:55 PM ———- Previous post was at 04:50 PM ———-

So it is a flaw that they put two identical locks in a cabinet that use different keys without marking on the outside which key open which lock. Since it is such a fragile mechanism, I would think they would stamp the lock number on the outside of the lock where it can be seen instead of on the inside.